5. Locate and remove all of the required die-cut parts,
W-2's (12), W-3's (10), W-4's (10) and the W-8 wingtips
and the W-9, 10, 11 and 12 wingtip formers. These
should be removed carefully and their edges
cleaned-up with a sanding block as needed. Start
construction by accurately cutting and positioning
the bottom 3/32" x 1" leading edge sheeting strip in
place. Dothesamethingfortherear 3/32"x 1 "trailing
edge sheeting as well. Now take one of the W-2 ribs
and test fit it in place between these two sheet
strips. The notches should fit accurately, allowing
the bottom of the rib to contact the work surface. If
any adjustment is needed due to gaps, move the rear
sheeting strip slightly forward or back as needed;
once satisfied, pin the sheeting in place.
6. You are now going to provide the proper dihedral
angle to the leading edges and the spars to give you
an accurate, tight fit when the two panels are joined
to the center section later. Take the center section
structure that you just built and position it in place
against the inboard edges of the two sheeting strips
that are pinned in place. Tilt the center section struc-
ture down until the front and rear ply dihedral brace
arms contact the sheeting. The resulting angle of
the side of the center section is the angle that you
want to impart to the inboard ends of both spars and
the leading edge. Take one of the 3/8" x 1/2" x 30"
leading edges and lay it in place on the leading edge
sheet, against the now tilted center section—note
the gap at the bottom due to the tilt. Use a razor blade
to trim the end of the leading edge to fit flush and
square to the tilted center section's leading edge.
Once satisfied, mark and cut the other end of the
leading edge to end at the outboard edge of the
leading edge sheeting. You should now have a
perfect fitting leading edge—repeat the process for
the opposite panel and glue the leading edge in
place. Now do the same thing to the inboard ends of
the top and bottom spars. Position and pin the bot-
tom spar in place over the plans. Glue the first, in-
board W-2 rib in place to the rear face of the leading
edge, to the spar and the rear trailing edge sheeting
strip. Hold the tilted center section structure in
place to provide accurate placement of this first rib.
7. Glue all of the remaining W-2 ribs in place.
8. Glue the top spar in place into the W-2 rib slots—use
the center section once again to ensure proper in-
board positioning of the spar end.
9. Glue all of the W-4 half ribs in place to the top and
bottom spars and the leading edge.
10. Glue all of the W-3 angled rear ribs in place. NOTE:
Where the forward ends of these ribs contact the W-2
ribs, they should be chamfered to fit flush, do this
with your sanding block.
11. As shown on the cross sections on the plans, the
bottom rear trailing edge sheeting strip needs to be
chamfered a little to receive the top rear trailing
edge strip. Do this now with your sanding block.
Once satisfied, glue the top rear trailing edge
sheeting strip (3/32" x 1") in place, again using the
tilted center section structure for alignment and
positioning. Pin in place and allow to dry.
12. Glue wingtip W-8 in place to the ends of the wing
panels. Note the positions of and glue wingtip
formers W-9, W-10,W-11 and W-12 in place.
13. Remove the wing panels from the work surface. In-
spectthem for anydriedglobsof glue, remove these
with a #11 X-acto knife. While holding both panels
together, make sure they are identical by using a
sanding block to go around all of the edges to match
them as closely as possible. Take your time here and
do a neat job.
14. Use a razor plane and your sanding block to now
shape the leading edge down to the cross sections
shown. A strip of masking tape just behind the
leading edge and across all of the ribs will protect
them while you are forming the leading edge shape.
Finally, use a well-worn piece of light sandpaper to
go over all of the wing panel surfaces to totally
smooth it out for covering later.
15. You will notice on the plans that each wing panel is
shown with three lengths of 1/4" sq. spruce which is
meant to serve as wing wire anchor points. If it is
your intention to use these wires on your model, cut
and glue these anchor points in place.
TAIL GROUP
The tail group of your Elder, hopefully like the rest of the
airplane, is quite straight-forward and buildable directly
over the plans. Note there are a few options open to you
with these parts in terms of shape. The stab's gentle
curves which terminate in sharp points at the trailing
edge of the elevators give a certain "look." This look can
be changed by rounding the outboard trailing edges of
the elevators to get rid of the sharp point. This "softens"
the look of these shapes. The same thing can be done to
the fin and rudder, top and bottom—looks nice. As
shown, you can also seal lop the trail ing edges of the rud-
der and elevators to give yet another look.
1. Start with the stab, build it directly over the plans
which you have covered with the clear backing from
Monokote or food wrap. Position S-1 in place and
pin. Cut a length of 1/4"x 1/2" stock to glue to the for-
ward edge of S-1—glue in place. Glue the two S-2
leading pieces to the two S-3 pieces to form the two
required leading edges. Glue these in place to each
side of S-1 and the 1/4" x 1/2" trailing edge of S-1.
2. Cut, fit and glue the two 1/4" sq. balsa ribs into each
side of the stab. Use short lengths of 1/4" x 1/2" stock
to make the fillets—note their grain direction.
3. From the 1/4 " x 1-1/2" x 24" balsa stock supplied,
measure and cut the two elevators. Notch them as
shown to accept the 1/4" dia. x 3-1/2" dowel elevator
joiner. With the stab still in position on the work
bench, position the elevator halves in place and pin.
Protect the trailing edge of the stab with a strip of
waxed paper and epoxy the dowel elevator connec-
tor in place in the notches made earlier—allow to dry
completely.
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